Fair skies and gifts greet anglers at trout opener season

Crowds and cold water keep creel numbers low

On what turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant spring morning, Leroy Young extended his hand and thanked Cody Rydzy for buying a Pennsylvania fishing license.

Young, director of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's Bureau of Fisheries, made his way to the Lehigh Valley Saturday to kick off trout season in the 18-county southeastern region.

He and three other commission employees spent most of the morning along the Little Lehigh Creek, thanking anglers with "swag bags" that included fish measuring tapes, floatable money holders and other items. They moved to the Monocacy just before noon.

Rydzy, from Dupont, Luzerne County, and a group of friends had traveled to a section of the Little Lehigh off Keystone Street in Allentown for the fourth straight year.

"Hey, it's two weeks before we can do it back home," said his friend, Mike Flannelly of Avoca, Luzerne County. "It's better being on the water than sitting at home."

Across the Lehigh Valley, from the Little Lehigh in Allentown to the Monocacy in Bethlehem and to the Bushkill in Easton, and waters north and south of those creeks, anglers flocked to stream banks like swallows to Capistrano for opening day action.

Joe Tomanik of Allentown fished with his family across the Little Lehigh from the Rydzy group, and, when asked, voiced his displeasure about the region's early opening day.

"I think they need to go back to the one opening day across the state, north and south," he told Eric Levis, the commission's press secretary, who was surveying anglers as part of the commission's "Thank You Campaign."

"It's too crowded on opening day because all these guys from Stroudsburg and up north are coming down here," Tomanik said. "This hole here, usually it's loaded [with trout], but today, seven guys have caught seven total fish so far."

Eric Catkowski of Zionsville likes the early opening date, but agreed about the number of fish being caught.

"Usually I've caught 40 or 50 by now at this spot on the first day, but today, nothing," he said. "I was scouting areas for four hours yesterday and this was the best spot."

Young said the colder water, due to the extended winter, makes the fish more sluggish.

Mike Dlugos of Mike's Bait and Sport Shop in Nazareth warned that the colder temperatures would play havoc with people's "honey holes," where they are used to catching fish, and people were finding that true on the Little Lehigh. Dlugos said that the fish were more likely to stay in areas with cover and structure, and would move very little for food. The Little Lehigh's surprisingly clear water also may have alerted the fish to the multitude of people waiting for them.

"My legs are like stumps right now from being in the cold water," said Ralph Howell of Bethlehem, who waded in the Little Lehigh. "I caught three so far, and it ain't raining, so it's all good."

Start: Trout season began Saturday in 18 southeastern Pennsylvania counties, including: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Montgomery and Schuylkill; and on Lizard and Mahoning creeks in Carbon County; begins April 12 elsewhere in Carbon County and in the rest of the state.

Length: 24 hours a day, with a creel limit of five, through Sept. 1

License: To take part, people 16 and older need a Pennsylvania fishing license with a trout/salmon permit. The state Fish and Boat Commission lists issuing agents and provides for online license purchases: fishandboat.com

Cost: $22.70 annual license for residents; $11.70 for seniors; $11.70 for one-day license through April 30; $9. 70 for a trout/salmon permit.